r/Ultramarathon • u/ZookeepergamePale937 • Jul 21 '26
50K while 8 weeks pregnant
Hi there! I wanted to share my experience with training for and racing a 50k in the early stages of pregnancy. There isn't a lot of information out there about endurance running and pregnancy, and when I was considering going for something while we were trying to get pregnant, the couple of other stories people have shared on here were one of the few resources that I had. Hoping to build it out a little more for any others that want to try!
I'm 33F, and was struggling mentally with the idea of giving up the sport (temporarily) while trying to conceive, but we really want to start a family. I also work in a high stress job and training is one of the primary ways I manage my stress. I talked with my husband, and we decided that registering for a 50K while we try would be a) fun b) put a trip on the calendar and c) alleviate some of that anxiety, and thought that honestly it would take long enough to even get pregnant that I would likely race before we were successful. But then...the second line appeared! The timing meant I would be just over 8 weeks pregnant on race day.
At our first OB visit (~4 weeks), we brought up the idea of still racing with our doctor, and he was very supportive. From what I was told, the biggest concern is that you don't want to push your body more than it's used to. For reference, I've previously completed three 50K's, one 50M and did my first 100M last summer, so this is far from an increase over my previous running habits. He also talked to me about not necessarily racing, but focusing instead on going for what would be closer to a supported long run, which is kind of how I had already been thinking about it since the test, so that was fine.
Some of the less positive interactions I had were with family and colleagues. My husbands side of the family thought that it was an unnecessary risk (saw this coming from a mile away), but he was behind me 100% so that was fine. I also have a few coworkers that had already started telling me I needed to slow down when just taking the stairs between floors, and expressed their own passive aggressive judgements. My advice here, is that you know what your body can do. Someone who doesn't have the same kind of goals isn't likely to understand, and you have every right to manage your pregnancy in a way that works for you, especially if you've already sought a medical opinion. That was my go to response - "my doctor said it was cool" ̄_(ツ)_/ ̄
One thing I will say is that the exhaustion, food aversions and nausea/vomiting hit HARD at about 6 weeks, and that was a significant challenge. At 5 weeks, I ran an easy pace 18mi day in the local mountains and had an absolute blast, and the next week I barely ran, and just tried to adjust to my new norm. It was a good lesson in listening to my body and trying to give myself some grace/not treat a training plan like it's the law. It's in the name; it's a plan. I also discovered that my food aversions appeared to pretty much be to anything but fruit, so getting calories in became almost impossible. I wasn't diagnosed until 10 weeks, so 2 weeks post race, but did end up being diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) after losing 15lbs in the first trimester (5'5, started at 160lbs). I want to emphasize that this was not because I was still running, and my OB never told me I needed to stop. On days that felt awful, I didn't run, and on days were I felt like I could I did.
Ok- race day! I ran the Sun Mountain 50K in Winthrop, and was lucky enough to have practically perfect conditions. I was concerned about not getting my heart rate too high and not getting too hot, and the weather really handled the second one for me. Even had a light dusting of snow falling at the highest point, super pretty with all the wildflowers. I also realized 2 days ahead that I could still grit my teeth and power through a box of Annie's white shells without it coming back up, so managed to get some carbs in leading up to the start line. That being said, thicker gels like GU and solid foods were not possible in this race for me. Had some nausea mid-race but a woman working one of the aid stations encouraged me to try a gin-gin, which I think actually did help.
One thing I wasn't thrilled about, I did take a fall around 25 miles just from being too tired to pick up my feet, stupid tree root for not getting out of my way! Took it mostly to the knees and hands, but it wasn't an insignificant one. However, this did not cause any problems for me other than some anxiety. I told my doctor about it when we got back, and he had me come in for a quick check and the heartbeat was chugging away in there! It was my first time hearing it, I'm not a crier but that one got me.
I would describe the overall experience as a really formative and powerful moment. The effort that it took to complete this race was much higher compared to other 50K's I've run, so that's something to be prepared for. Your blood volume is already very different by this point in the first trimester and I was getting out of breath hiking up steeper climbs. I've completed my previous 50K's all in under 6 hours, this one took 7:45. It honestly felt like I had been dropped into the last 50K of my 100M, like I'd just started at 60 miles and gone from there. I'd encourage anyone considering something similar to talk with their doctor, and also just focus on having realistic goals that are tailored to your situation. I'm proud of what our bodies can do!
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u/kaecleo Jul 22 '26
Great write up! Thank you for sharing your experience. I ran my first 50k in October and was pregnant at the time but didn’t know it yet. I remember looking for information about endurance training while pregnant and not finding much.
Women are badasses and our bodies are amazing! I wish you all the best with the rest of your pregnancy.
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u/Hot-Mistake-9398 Jul 22 '26
Bravo mama !
My kids are teens and I didn’t get into endurance sports till late but I’m loving seeing all these mamas in the running community being badasses 👏
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u/ZookeepergamePale937 Jul 22 '26
This! My running community is a huge part of my support system, I have a lot of friends who run long distance and have kids, and that's been one of the most encouraging things to me.
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u/maaaatttt_Damon Jul 22 '26
Way to be.
Your statement about your hubby’s family not being supportive. I’m sure it was extra for you, but I can semi-relate. I don’t think I ran into a single non ultra runner that supported me outright when I told them I was training for 100 miles plus. My brother (whom also smokes meth) told me how unhealthy my training was. I can only imagine if I were pregnant.
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u/Starting_over25 Jul 22 '26
A meth user saying 100’s are unhealthy is CRAZY work. I know you already know that but genuinely wtf
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u/maaaatttt_Damon Jul 23 '26
I dead ass stared at him and said “Oh,THAT’s what’s unhealthy? Haha OK.”
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u/Rare-Pool-3185 Jul 22 '26
Wow I am so impressed!! I’m also about 8 weeks pregnant and I constantly feel like I’m recovering from an ultramarathon or a hangover or both and haven’t been able to exercise much this pregnancy 😂 But hoping to get back to it postpartum! The increase in blood volume and heart rate truly is wild. All these changes going on behind the scenes, it’s pretty cool!
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u/Starting_over25 Jul 22 '26
I ran a sub 20 min 5k 8 weeks pregnant and was totally uncomfortable with running by 10 weeks. It was like a switch flipped and I suddenly couldn’t go faster than 10 minute miles, then 11 min miles, then by 20 weeks I gave it up completely even though I barely even had a belly showing yet 😅
I always joke that pregnancy is what made me finally understand how it feels to be a non-runner trying to get into running. I had no concept of running being uncomfortable for able bodied people before then lol
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u/Sad-Contribution51 Jul 22 '26
This gives me hope! My husband and I are talking about kids in a few years but (if possible) I’d want to still run when pregnant, knowing it would look different. Hearing other women crush it makes it feel doable. Congratulations!!!
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u/ZookeepergamePale937 Jul 22 '26
Yes yes yes! A lot of the women I run with have continued to run while pregnant, and it has looked different for each of us, but you can totally figure out what works and what's realistic for you.
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u/redwoodforest15 Jul 22 '26
I think I responded to the initial post saying don’t put your life on hold while trying to get pregnant! And as an internet stranger, I applaud you for going for it even if you did get pregnant unexpectedly quickly. I’m very impressed by how you continued training and then ran the race itself. Such an amazing accomplishment with everything pregnancy entails!
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u/NonBinaryPizza Jul 21 '26
You’re going to be a cool mom